Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Michael Patrick Dease was born August 25, 1982 in Augusta, Georgia. He attended John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet High School where he studied saxophone and voice. He achieved all-state vocal honors for three consecutive years.
At 17 Michael taught himself to play trombone and was soon invited to join the inaugural class of the Juilliard jazz studies program by Wycliffe Gordon. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees while at the school. While at Juilliard he won many awards, including the Frank Rosolino Award, J.J. Johnson Award, the Sammy Nestico Jazz Composers Award, ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award, and the Fish Middleton Jazz Competition.[2]
He began his career in Illinois Jacquet’s Big Band in 2002, and has performed as a featured member of the big bands of Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Jimmy Heath, Charles Tolliver and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars. He also performs with small groups led by Claudio Roditi, Rodney Whitaker, Wycliffe Gordon, and David Sanborn. He has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America. In addition to performance, Dease serves as president and producer at his jazz record label, D Clef Records.
Dease conducts master classes and workshops at universities and conservatories around the world, holds the position of Associate Professor of Jazz Trombone at the Michigan State University College of Music. He has held similar positions at Queens College, CUNY, and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City.
Tenor and bass trombonist, composer, producer and educator Michael Dease continues to perform, compose, record and educate.
More Posts: bandleader,bass,composer,educator,flugelhorn,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,producer,saxophone,trombone,trumpet
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Robert De Kers was born Robert De Keersmaeker on August 10, 1906 in Antwerp, Belgium. He learned to play piano as a child, and began playing jazz with local musicians while in his teens. He was the pianist for the Bing Boys in 1924-1925, then picked up trumpet.
As a trumpeter Robert toured Italy with the Jeff Candrix Band, brother of Fud Candrix, and played there with Carlo Benzi and David Bee’s Red Beans. Later in the 1920s he was associated with Harry Flemming and Josephine Baker.
The 1930s saw him working with Jean Robert and Jean Omer in addition to leading his own ensemble, the Cabaret Kings, which toured Europe. He continued recording into the 1950s, also working as an arranger and composer; he led bands in the United States, and Germany following World War II and was later head of the Wurlitzer Company’s Belgian operations.
Trumpeter and bandleader Robert De Kers died on January 16, 1987 in Brussels, Belgium.
More Posts: bandleader,instrumental,jazz,music,trumpet
Daily Dose Of Jazz
Siegfried “Sigi” Schwab was born in Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany on August 5, 1940. He played in a wide variety of styles, including baroque and jazz. He played in German groups like Et Cetera with pianist Wolfgang Dauner, bassist Eberhard Weber, and drummers Fred Braceful and Roland Wittig.
With Embryo he was joined by drummer and percussionist Christian Burchard, Mal Waldron on piano, and bassist Dave King, and with percussionist Ramesh Shotham. He played with the Diabelli Trio, Peter Horton, Freddie Santiago, Guillermo Marchena, and Andreas Keller.
In 1980 he played with flutist Chris Hinze at the 5th North Sea Jazz Festival. In addition, Schwab has also published several books about various guitar playing styles. He was a teacher, and performed on more than 15,000 recordings for film, television, and as an accompanist to various artists.
Sigi Schwab, who recorded twenty-eight albums as a leader and died after a long illness on January 11, 2024 at the age of 83 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
More Posts: bandleader,guitar,history,instrumental,jazz,music
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Martin Pickett was born on August 2, 1969 in Bristol, United Kingdom. His love of music took shape in his early teens, writing songs and playing guitar. He studied classical guitar through to Bristol University, while having piano as a second instrument and exploring compositional approaches.
After graduating Pickett received a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in secondary music education, then moved to Oxford, UK to teach music in a secondary school. It was during this period that his interest in jazz piano dominated his musical activities.
In 1998 Martin left his teaching post to work as a freelance jazz pianist and teacher. Since this time he has worked in a variety of settings and worked with a wide array of Britain’s most talented musicians.
He has recorded his own compact disc, I’ll Be With You Again in 2005 and played on albums by Diane Nalini, Tim Wilson, 3BPM, and Frank Hockney. He was featured as a composer on all of these apart from Frank’s project.
Pianist Martin Pickett has been a teacher in Oxford since 1998 and continues to focus his attention to being a freelance jazz pianist, performing with the group 3BPM, and songwriting collaboration with Tony Isaacs..
More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,piano,songwriter
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ian Davis was born on August 1, 1953 in South Carolina and started drumming at fifteen as an R&B drummer with The Barons, playing gigs on the South Carolina chittlin’ circuit with Earl Davis, George McCauley, Craig Washington, Phil Griffin, and Cool John Ferguson. He played folk and fusion in the Seventies, alt-pop, improvisational, and big band music in the 80’s, and played with Blue Chair, Mind Sirens, Bicentennial Quarters, Trailer Bride, and Chris Stamey/Kirk Ross in the 90’s. He went on to become the host drummer for six years at the Carrboro Arts Center monthly jazz jam.
Moving to the Bay area of San Francisco, California in 1995 Davis played with the Mills College based large improvising ensemble Micro Collective Orchestra along with Scott Rosenberg, Matt Ingalls, Morgan Guberman, Brian Pearson, Brian Kane, and many others. Following his 1997 return to North Carolina he organized the structured improvisational orchestra Micro-East Collective, similar in design to Micro.
He and composer, performer, producer and engineer Chris Stamey have recorded and produced three compact discs for Micro-East. Ian also manages Umbrella Records. He currently plays in improvisational duos with guitarist Jason Bivins, soprano and tenor saxophonist Mahlon Hoard, Onomata, a pulse-based improvising quartet, Unstable Ensemble, a Bloomington based improvisation ensemble, and The Dave Fox Quartet out of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Davis has been invited to play gigs with Eugene Chadbourne, he toured with Andrew Voigt, Morgan Guberman, and Toshi Makihara as part of the music and dance group Corpus Ludens. Drummer Ian Davis continues to record improvisational performers during house concerts sponsored by the Triangle’s Alliance for Improvised Music.
More Posts: bandleader,drums,history,instrumental,jazz,music